[mythtv-users] [Now OT, was] DVB-S channel scanning gets stuck

Graham Wood mythtv-users at spam.dragonhold.org
Thu Jul 31 17:55:22 UTC 2008


On Thu, Jul 31, 2008 at 05:32:29PM +0100, Steve Hill wrote:
> As far as I know, equipment still has to be BABT approved (prior to 
> privatisation, most phones were hard-wired rather than plug-in things 
> anyway).  I don't know how approval is enforced though - it might be 
> through your BT contract rather than by law.  Certainly, back around the 
> 1995 era, BABT approved modems were 2-3 times the price of unapproved 
> ones, so a lot of people just (illegally) used the unapproved hardware.
The BABT approval (green dot) and not (red dot) is the thing that I don't think applies 
anymore.  In fact, doing a google for that 4 letter combination gets very few hits - and 
none on BTs site.  Looking further, it seems that the stories about the green dot 'being 
required' may have been urban myths in the first place (but I make no guarantees about 
that).  

Google hit with apparently a comment from legal document stating that it's not required 
anymore:

http://forums.contractoruk.com/technical/1939-babt-approval-ce-marking.html

Which in turn leads (via a search for 99/5/EC) to (I think the document that was quoted):

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/rtte/dir99-5.htm

However, at the moment I'm having no trouble sleeping, so I'll leave someone else to read 
that.  (I got bored enough to skim the first bits... Articles 3 & 5 seem to say that the 
'CE' mark is sufficient, and that the UK market has to just lump it - or complain about the 
'CE' standard, it can't just use its own)

> Having just moved house a couple of weeks ago, I can tell you that all the 
> contracts state that you have a legal responsibility to take any contents 
> which has not been agreed to be left (of course, my new house had all 
> sorts of crap left in it anyway :).  And you get a bloody huge tick-sheet 
> saying what you're leaving and what you're taking (and yes, the tick sheet 
> even includes exterior doors and windows (!)).
That's what I was refering to, yes.  We've ended up with a swing in the back garden (we 
moved 18 months ago), and should really have complained.  Since we've got a 2 year old 
little boy, we decided to just keep it for if/when he gets old enough to want it.  There's 
also a load of paving stones - so if anyone near SE london wants them, they're yours.  Buyer 
collects, of course.

> > For example I think water companies can dig up any part of your house 
> > they like to fix a leak in one of their pipes - and you've agreed to 
> > that if you're on a mains water supply.
> I suspect that isn't a legally enshrined right - it'll be allowed by 
> contract (at least, the covenant for my house requires me to agree to such 
> things and I wouldn't expect them to do that if they had the right 
> anyway).
The comment was slightly light humoured, and indeed was misleadingly phrased (not on 
purpose, just badly done).  I know that something we signed when we bought this place gave 
that right to the water board - the covenant sounds about right.  We've got a few other 
"interesting" clauses in ours too ;)


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